Serving Businesses
SBS oversees a network of
NYC Business Solutions
Centers in all five
boroughs, offering a free
set of services to help
businesses start, operate,
and expand. SBS offers
incentives, courses,
connections to financing
and pro-bono legal advice,
and more.
Serving Jobseekers
SBS oversees a network of Workforce1
Career Centers in all five boroughs that
connect qualified job applicants to
available opportunities. Last year, SBS
placed 31,000 people into jobs.
Serving Neighborhoods
SBS partners with community-based
economic development organizations
throughout the City, overseeing 66
Business Improvement Districts and
administering the Avenue NYC program.
The Department of Small Business Services
Serving Minority- and Women-Owned
Business Enterprises
SBS oversees NYC‟s Minority- and
Women-owned Business Enterprise
Program, promoting the development of
the City‟s M/WBEs and opportunity in City
purchasing.
What is a BID?
A Business Improvement District is a
public/private partnership, set up as a
nonprofit organization, that collects a
mandatory assessment from property
owners in a defined geographic area for
supplemental service delivery such as
street and sidewalk sanitation, security,
marketing, and special events.
The BID model has become
widespread along commercial corridors
and downtown neighborhoods in the
United States and abroad, including
Canada, England, New Zealand,
Japan, and South Africa.
New York City‟s network of 66 BIDs in
all five boroughs is overseen by the
Department of Small Business
Services. Grand Central Partnership
BIDs: Improving NYC Neighborhoods for 30 Years
Legislatures in NY
City and State pass
BID legislation
Property owners form
the City‟s first BID,
Union Square
First BID in the Bronx,
HUB/3rd Avenue, is
formed
5 BIDs invest
$1.3 million into
NYC
State legislation passes to
form the first Special
Assessment Districts
(SADs), Fulton Mall,
Jamaica Center, Nassau
St. and 165th St.
22 BIDs invest
$9.4 million in
NYC
44 BIDs invest
$52.1 million
in NYC
1976
1981-1982 1985
1990
1984
1988
2000
4
BIDs and City Hall in the Late 1990s
5
February 4, 2001 | By Terry Pristin
Improvement Districts Balk At City
Plan For New Fee
Mayor Bloomberg recognized the impact
BIDs have on the economic development of
New York City and created a 5-point plan to
re-energize the BID Program:
1. Simplify formation and expansion
procedures and create one-stop, user-
friendly BID Formation guide
2. Allow BIDs to increase budgets and
boundaries
3. Streamline the assessment collection and
distribution process
4. Provide grants to spearhead formation
targeting neighborhoods outside
Manhattan
5. Allow issuance of long-term debt
“In these tough times, we must strengthen
business improvement districts and local
economic development corporations
throughout the City.”
- Mayor Michael Bloomberg
2002 State of the City Address
6
The Bloomberg Administration
The Bloomberg Administration
7
February 18, 2002 | By Terry Pristin
For Improvement Districts,
Restored Alliance With City
5 BIDs formed, including
first BID in Staten Island
Mayor Bloomberg announces
a new policy for BIDs
66 BIDs invest over $100
million in services to 16,000+
ground floor businesses,
serve 3,100+ city block faces,
and employ 1,200+ people
The Bloomberg Administration
2 BIDs formed
3 BIDs formed
3 BIDs formed
3 BIDs formed
4 BIDs formed
2002
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2011
8
BIDs in expansion • Lower East Side
• Metro Tech
• Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn
• NoHo
9
BIDs in planning (in green) • SoHo
• Westchester Square
• 8th Avenue/ Sunset Park
• Burnside Avenue
• East Harlem/ 116th Street
• Hudson River Park
• Utica Avenue
Blue indicates BIDs formed prior to 2002
Red indicates BIDs since 2002 (22)
The Bloomberg Administration
22 BIDs have been created under
this administration, bringing the total
to 64, 19 of which are in boroughs
outside Manhattan
66 BIDs
10
The Impact of BIDs in New York City
In 2010, BIDs:
Invested nearly $98 million in services
Provided services to 16,000 ground floor
businesses
Served 3,100+ city block faces
Employed 1,200+ people
Recent study showed commercial property values increased
significantly more rapidly (15%) in BID districts vs. non-BID
districts
11
The Impact of BIDs in New York City
In FY 2010 NYC‟s network of BIDs:
Covered over 3,100 block faces with
sanitation services
Employed over 612 sanitation workers & 364
public safety officers
Logged over 1.2 million public safety/
ambassador interactions
Held over 1,173 public events that drew an
estimated 13 million attendees
BID Formation in NYC
The BID formation process involves three phases: 1. Planning - Establish a steering committee - Determine boundaries - Identify services needed - Write a formal plan for the BID 2. Outreach - Gain support for the new BID from
area constituents - Explain the formation process - Adjust the plan 3. Legislative Authorization - Submit the plan to City Planning Commission, Community Boards, City Council, and Mayor - Hold public hearings - Review the documented support - Sign the BID into law
The Role of SBS: BID Formation and Beyond
Once a BID is formed and signed into law, SBS‟ District Development staff works
with the BID to:
Represent Mayor as Voting Member of BID Board
Liaise with other Government Agencies on behalf of the BIDS
Manage BID Contract and Payment
Ensure Compliance with BID Contract, By-laws and Governance
Promote best practices and encourage innovation
13
14
SBS develops programs and venues to promote best
practices:
Hosting roundtables to discuss service provision
strategies, data tracking and district marketing initiatives
Producing annual BID conference, bringing in leaders from
across the country to discuss innovations in programs and
services
The Role of SBS: Building Capacity
Conducting tours that engage peers
and City agencies to actively solve
problems that impact the BID
Summarize annual revenue and
expense data
15
Activating and maintaining public
space
Developing effective relationships
with City agencies
Retaining old and attracting new
businesses
Zoning and land-use strategies
Infrastructure and capital program
needs
The Role of SBS: Building Capacity
SBS hosts a series of tours called Spotlight on a District, where stakeholders,
government officials, real estate professionals, architects and urban planners
come together to problem solve and share best practices.
Topics include:
16
SBS helps build the capacity of organizations by
developing workshops and providing one-on-one
technical assistance to support the BID programs
and operations. Initiatives include:
Launching a website development initiative
to provide BIDs with a free website
Partnering with the Lawyer‟s Alliance to
promote best practices and compliance with
BID and non-profit law
Providing financial management, board
development and program evaluation
workshops
The Role of SBS: Building Capacity
In FY 2010, SBS provided over 1,200 hours of training to 80 staff and Board
members of BIDs & LDCs
17
In 2011, SBS is providing training opportunities in the following:
Program Design and Development: Developing Programs that Get Results
Measuring Impact and Communicating
Success
Fund Development: Cultivating Productive Funder Relationship
Developing Realistic Fundraising Strategies
Board Development: Strategies for Recruiting and Engaging a Board
of Directors
Effective Board Management: Reporting
Finances and Successes
Communications and Marketing: Working with the Media
Developing Outreach and Marketing
Campaigns
Using Social Media
The Role of SBS: Building Capacity
Each year, SBS partners with more than
100 community-based organizations to
carry out commercial revitalization
initiatives in districts throughout the five
boroughs through the BID program and
Avenue NYC program
18
The Avenue NYC program provides
organizations with funding in specific
commercial revitalization project areas
and the technical assistance needed to
implement successful programs
In FY 2011, Avenue NYC is investing
$2.2 million in support of the
commercial revitalization activities of 47
organizations
The Role of SBS: Building Capacity
Leadership Development
19
In February 2011, SBS, in
collaboration with the Coro New York
Leadership Center and the
Association for a Better New York,
launched the Neighborhood
Leadership Program.
20 individuals working to strengthen
New York City‟s commercial corridors
began the five-month leadership
training program in February. The
program teaches:
Conducting a Neighborhood
Logic Study
Understanding Small Business
Fundamentals
Promoting and Marketing
Business Districts
Improving Tenant Mix through
Targeted Retail Leasing
Neighborhood Leadership Participants
20
Laurel Brown
Executive Director
Jamaica Center BID
Blaise Backer
Executive Director
Myrtle Avenue
Revitalization Project LDC
Angelina Ramirez
Executive Director
Washington Heights BID
21
Underperforming BIDs
In 2010, the City took action in Washington Heights, where the BID was failing
to provide basic services.
Locals Say Washington Heights BID Has A Lot Of Work To Do 5/12/2010 | Rebecca Spitz
22
Underperforming BIDs
SBS worked with elected officials, business leaders and property owners to
produce change.
A Brief History
1870s- Union Square is the center of high
class living and luxury shopping, the
midpoint of “Ladies‟ Mile” and the original
headquarters of Tiffany‟s and Macy‟s
1920s- New York‟s business center shifts,
leaving Union Square in the gap between
the „uptown‟ and the „downtown‟.
Department stores, like Hearn‟s and S.
Klein‟s, become linchpins of the new
“bargain district.”
1950s–1970s- Union Square businesses
and offices close or relocate; vacated lots
breed drug use and homelessness; Union
Square‟s retail anchor, S. Klein, closes in
1975.
Union Square: A Case Study
• 1976 Community activists form “Sweet 14”, aiming to renovate and restore Union Square.
• 1976 14th Street Local Development Corporation (LDC) formed by a group of political, community and business leaders.
• 1984 Formation of New York‟s first Business Improvement District at 14th Street-Union Square
Union Square: A Case Study
Core Services
• Graffiti Removal
• Sidewalk & Street Sweeping
• Security
• Street Lighting
• Marketing Initiatives & Special Events
Union Square: A Case Study
A Renaissance
• Union Square is an example of a successful private and public collaborative effort to revitalize a neighborhood
• BID provides services to community, including working with a local high school and developing supportive housing for the homeless
• Today Union Square is one of the most popular and heavily utilized public spaces in the City
“Business people, residents, the arts community, schools, city agencies have worked together believing we could make our community a better place. I‟ve always thought that the way it‟s been done here should be a microcosm for how the whole city should work.”
Eugene McGrath, former Chairman of Con Edison
Union Square: A Case Study
27
Challenges Ahead
Balancing Core Mission and Innovation Keep BIDs focused on “clean and safe” which
stretching them to take on other challenges in
the community (e.g., an underperforming
school)
Solutions for Smaller Commercial
Corridors Smaller BIDs spend nearly half of their
budgets on general and administrative costs;
some smaller corridors cannot afford the BID
model
Linking BIDs with Business Services Leverage BIDs for small business services
such as capital access and workforce
development; make connections to NYC
Business Solutions